Foreboding
by Kat Warrior1
Summary: Rayman's paradiselike break keeps being disturbed because Globox just won't stop worrying. But what happens when Globox starts worrying and is convinced that something will happen? Is he right?


Foreboding  
Kat Warrior  
  
AN: OK, I'll admit it, I don't know too much about weather, so I don't know if thunder and lightning can keep going without rain. Also, this is my very first Rayman fan fiction, so I hope I did well! I'm rather familiar with the Rayman universe (having played the Rayman, Rayman 2, owning Rayman Rush, and having recently beaten Rayman 3), so everyone should be in character!  
  
***  
  
The waters flowed serenely through the clearing, creating a lovely melody as they kept in time with the gentle breeze flowing through the trees. But the breeze was friendly and not chilly, and the sun seemed to be in kind spirits as well, not beating down too warmly on the forest. It was a perfect day to go fishing and Rayman was doing just that, or at least he had been.  
  
He had dozed off to the melody of nature under a cool blanket of shade from the tree he was resting against. He hadn't really gone fishing with the only intent of catching anything, but instead just wanting to spend the perfect day relaxing. If he didn't catch much more than he had, he didn't care, although Globox might. His blue, frog-like friend had wanted a fish dinner for some time, and so Rayman had volunteered to go catch him something.  
  
Rayman opened his eyes when he felt a harsh tug on the pole in his hands. He sat up and worked for a few minutes to reel in whatever was pulling on the line. When he finally did bring his catch in, he was slightly disappointed to find that it was only a small fish, not even worth keeping.  
  
With a simple smile, he unhooked the fish and set it back in the water. It swam away, obviously grateful to be able to live another day. After watching the fish go, Rayman re-cast his line and leaned back against the tree to continue his nap.  
  
***  
  
Globox was getting irritable waiting for Rayman to come back. Shouldn't he have returned with a basket full of fish by now? Rayman was an excellent fisherman, so what was taking him so long? Could he be in trouble?  
  
The final thought made Globox start to panic, and so he rushed down to the pond as fast as his webbed feet would carry him. No matter how scary the enemy, he would defeat them and rescue his limbless friend!  
  
***  
  
Rayman peeled his eyes open again when he heard footsteps. He sat up and looked around, wondering who was coming. He couldn't see anything yet, but the steps were getting louder. With a shrug (or what would have been one if he had shoulders), he gathered up the basket of fish he'd caught, reeled in his line, and prepared to go. Globox was probably starving by now.  
  
He turned his head when the footsteps ended and there was a rustle in the bushes. The next thing he knew, a blue blob came flying out of the bushes with a panicked yell and landed right on him.  
  
"Globox?!" he cried in surprise, "What in the world are you doing?!"  
  
"I came to protect you!" was the reply as the blue frog-like creature squeezed Rayman, "You took so long I thought you were in big trouble!"  
  
"No! I'm fine! Or I was…" Rayman wriggled his way out of Globox's arms and landed on the ground, rubbing his back and looking for his fishing gear. His bamboo pole had snapped in two and the fish basket was splitting at the seams. The fish in it had stopped flopping about, likely crushed under Globox's weight.  
  
"Gee… I'm sorry Rayman," Globox muttered, "I really thought you were in trouble…"  
  
"It's no big deal," Rayman sighed in reply, "I can get another pole, and the fish should still be good. It was nice of you to come to my rescue, even though I didn't need it. Let's cook up these fish now, what say?"  
  
Globox was delighted. Finally! He could have his fish dinner!  
  
***  
  
Globox and Rayman's plan to have their fish dinner in the form of a picnic was ruined when a thunder storm rolled in. They'd had to take refuge in the hollow of a thick tree and watch the lightning as they ate their meal. They had been careful to choose a short tree to lessen their chances of being hit by the lightning.  
  
"Can't you make the rain go away?" Rayman asked with a sigh.  
  
"Nope," Globox replied, his mouth full of food. "I can only make little rain clouds, so I can't do anything about this."  
  
Rayman sighed again as he watched the storm. It was a nice spectacle, but it had come out of nowhere and ruined their plans. Oh well. Perhaps they would picnic another day. After all, the world had just been saved so no one was likely to try destroying it or conquering it again anytime soon.  
  
"I guess the rain's a good thing," Rayman said quietly, "It'll help the plants grow, and if lightning strikes on some dry branches, it could help put out the fire."  
  
"Fire?" Globox asked nervously. He hadn't thought about the lightning causing that.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about, Globox," Rayman assured him, "The rain's coming in pretty hard, so it'll take care of it. You really should try not to worry so much. It's not good for you."  
  
"I know," Globox admitted, "But I can't help it. It must be in my blood or something…"  
  
***  
  
Rayman was leaning contently against Globox's pliable side, picking his teeth with a small sliver of wood. The rain had lightened considerably, but the lightning and thunder hadn't ceased. They'd gotten worse, if anything.  
  
Globox was trying hard to sleep, but he just couldn't force himself to. The storm frightened him, and he had this strong feeling that something was about to happen, and not something good. He couldn't believe that Rayman was so calm during such a storm.  
  
"Globox, are you still awake?" Rayman's sleepy voice asked, "Is the storm scaring you?"  
  
"Yes," Globox admitted, "But… that's not all… I'm worried that something terrible is going to happen!"  
  
"Don't worry, Globox," Rayman insisted, "Just go to sleep. I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise…"  
  
"But…."  
  
"Go to sleep, Globox…" Rayman's voice trailed off, indicating that he was in the land of slumber himself. Globox didn't want to wake him, so he settled down and tried to sleep through the storm.  
  
***  
  
Despite the fact that the rain had stopped, the lightning and thunder continued, illuminating the soggy forest. A wind came up and blew at the wet debris covering the forest floor, exposing the dry twigs and leaves beneath. The lightning struck again, leaving a spark behind it. Without the rain to hinder it, the little spark started growing, and then consuming whatever dry matter it could get a hold of. In no time, small forest fire had started and was growing.  
  
Animals fled, lums flew away at top speed, and fairies ushered sleepy creatures out of their homes. Even the teensies started to evacuate. They had to find Rayman, the forest's keeper, and alert him as soon as possible. Perhaps he could even contact Ly for them.  
  
***  
  
Globox woke up immediately when he smelled smoke. He could tell that it wasn't from a cook-out due to how late it was, so it had to be a fire! He rolled over and struggled to wake Rayman up. Naturally, this wasn't an easy task. Rayman was difficult to awaken once he'd been sleeping long enough.  
  
"Come on, Rayman!" Globox called in panic. He had seen the inferno through one of the holes in the tree, and was now totally convinced that they needed to evacuate. Finally fed-up and beyond panicked, Globox picked up Rayman and started running as fast as he could.  
  
Rayman woke up when he felt himself being bumped and jostled around. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see a raging fire around him and was just as surprised that Globox was carrying him and running.  
  
"Globox!" Rayman called, "I'll fly us outta here! Hold onto my hands!"  
  
Globox complied and Rayman flew several feet above the forest floor, making it difficult for the fire to catch up to them. They continued like this for quite some while, until the branches about them started to fall. Rayman did his best at dodging them to avoid being hit, but it was rather difficult.  
  
Rayman grunted when something hit him hard in the head. He blacked out, and he and Globox started to plummet to the ground. They landed hard, but Globox stood quickly and picked up Rayman again, running as fast as he possibly could until he got to the pond. Upon arriving he jumped in and swam to a floating log. Ly had always told them that the best place to meet in case of a fire was the pond.  
  
"Ly!" Globox called into the hot night air, "Ly, we need your help!"  
  
For minutes that seemed like hours, nothing happened. Then a soft, blue light started pulsating from the bottom of the pond. It grew, becoming more and more brilliant until it was even more blinding than the fire surrounding the pond.  
  
"Well done, Globox!" Ly's voice declared from somewhere in the blue brilliance, "Rayman will be proud of you."  
  
"Y-you mean… Rayman's gonna be OK?" he stuttered, hopeful.  
  
"Yes, he'll be fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to stop this fire."  
  
The blue light faded, revealing Ly only for a moment before she flew off, and began to work at saving what remained of the forest. Globox watched her go, and then returned his attention to his limbless friend.  
  
"Rayman?" he called, nudging him gently. "Rayman, it's me Globox."  
  
"Globox…" he moaned, "Good job… you saved the day…"  
  
"I did?" Globox was speechless after that. Had he, the biggest coward in the world, just saved the day? He could hardly believe it.  
  
"Yeah…" Rayman continued, sitting up slowly on the log, "You saved my life and a good deal of the forest. I owe ya big, pal. And I should have listened to ya when you said you felt something bad would happen. I'm sorry, Globox."  
  
"It's OK, Rayman," Globox assured him, trying not to get him worked up while he was injured, "I don't blame you. I do worry too much and I'm a coward… I'm afraid of everything "  
  
"There's no shame in being scared," Rayman assured him.  
  
"Easy for you to say; you're not afraid of anything!"  
  
"Yes, I am," Rayman replied, obviously tired. "I've gotten scared on some of my adventures… Being brave or courageous doesn't have to mean that you aren't afraid… it can mean doing what you have to regardless of how terrified you are. You were brave today, Globox… I'm sure you could have left me there in the tree instead of picking me up and running, but you didn't. You risked your life to save me… and you managed to keep your head. You came to the pond just like Ly told us… I'm assuming you contacted her, too… there's a pretty heavy rain coming in…"  
  
"Yeah," Globox replied, "I did…"  
  
As the rain came, the dying fire's warm colors cast a calming reflection on the water, creating a soft glow on and around the pond. Smoke blotted out any vision of the starry sky, making a canopy over the scorched forest. Despite the fact that it had to be quite late, it looked to be half day and half night.  
  
"You should rest now, Rayman," Ly's soft voice suggested as she floated out of the sky and hovered just about the red water's surface. "The fire is going out. The forest wasn't completely burned, and no lives were lost besides that of many plants."  
  
"The teensies won't be pleased," Rayman sighed as he lay down on the log, "They appointed me to watch over this forest and I let it burn."  
  
"Nature took its course," Ly corrected. "All that burned shall grow back, even more healthy and beautiful than before. These things happen. Now just rest, you need it."  
  
Rayman nodded and leaned back against a branch that was still attached to the log. In a matter of seconds, he was asleep again, dreaming of happy times and of seeing his friends' smiling faces.  
  
Globox sat quietly on the other end of the log, watching his little friend sleep. He still could hardly believe that he was a hero. He'd only dreamed of being a hero like his friend Rayman, and now that dream was coming close to reality. Who knew? He might actually save the world some day…  
  
THE END  
  
AN: Oh yeah! Everyone belongs to Ubi Soft Et. Guess I forgot to mention that… Oh well. And I don't know if Rayman is the forest's keeper. I just added that to be an interesting element.  
  
What did ya think? Should I write more? Or should I just keep my day job? (Even though I don't have one, heh…)  
  
~~Kat Warrior 


End file.
